The Salad That Converts Goat Cheese Skeptics in One Bite

It’s never too late to discover something nutritious and easy on the stomach that’s also extremely delicious that you can include as part of your regular dinner rotation! If you want to check off including salad more regularly on your bucket list, then trying out this incredible arugula salad as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge!

To see how this super delicious Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula and Almonds comes together, be sure to watch the video! It would also mean a lot if you would please subscribe to my YouTube if you haven’t already and press the bell button to be notified when all of my video recipes go live! Let’s get started!

Arugula salad with goat cheese crumbles and raspberries being plated with fresh greens lifted on utensil.

What is Arugula?▼

Arugula, also known as rocket, rucola, or roquette, is a leafy green deep in color with pointy notches along the sides. It has a slightly bitter and tart flavor, and the stems are crisp. Arugula is commonly served in raw salad recipes, but it can also be cooked to be added into soups, pastas and pizzas.

Arugula is actually my favorite green! I like how it’s crunchy and flavorful. Also, I have to admit that I just love the name “rocket!” I don’t particularly like the taste of kale and spinach tastes like mud. Additionally, lettuce tastes like water. What I love about arugula is that it actually tastes great on its own, and while I don’t eat salads very often, arugula makes me want to get in my greens! If you’ve got a picky eater, I recommend you show them the world of arugula, and this goat cheese salad recipe is the perfect way to get started! As I mention in my free motivational guide, Making Cooking Fun!!, you should be setting smart goals. For myself, I know I’m not going to pack in a ton of greens in a lot of my cooking since it’s really hard to like them. However, if I’ve got arugula in the fridge (check out the guide to learn more about how having an awareness of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry can spark creativity too!), then I look forward to using it up! If you haven’t found your favorite green yet, I strongly encourage you to give arugula a fair chance!

Arugula salad with goat cheese crumbles, fresh raspberries, and roasted almonds on a dark plate.

Dietary Information for Goat Cheese Salad

Our Arugula Almond Salad is…

Arugula salad with fresh raspberries, goat cheese crumbles, and roasted almonds on a dark plate.

Tools Needed to Make Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese

Ingredients for This Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad

The FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD is available at the bottom of this post with individual ingredient quantities and to save the recipe for later! You can also scale the recipe based on how many portions of salad you’re looking to make! By default, this recipe is considering two side-dish portions.

Ingredients for arugula goat cheese salad laid out including fresh arugula, raspberries, almonds, lemon, goat cheese, and dressing bottles.

Arugula: Make sure your arugula is chilled before so it has a nice crunch
Almonds: These will be roasted then chopped.
Olive oil: The base for the salad dressing that adds lots of flavor and is full of healthy fats to promote heart health and reduce bad cholesterol!
Lemon: Juice of half a lemon to add some freshness and zing to the dressing.
Dijon mustard: Adds a great tart flavor to the dressing. A small amount goes a long way!
Apple cider vinegar
Goat cheese: Really one of my favorite parts of this salad, and I encourage you not to skimp out! I love the flavor and texture!
Raspberries: They’ll have to be fresh for this recipe.
Salt and pepper: Always to taste! I recommend freshly ground black peppercorns for best flavor

Arugula salad with fresh raspberries, creamy goat cheese, and microgreens on a dark gray plate.

How to Make Healthy Goat Cheese Salad

For the Dijon Dressing

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper or any other flavorings. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Olive oil being drizzled into a stainless steel bowl containing Dijon dressing ingredients.

Whisking dijon dressing ingredients in a stainless steel bowl with yellow liquid visible.

Hand whisking Dijon dressing ingredients in a stainless steel bowl with olive oil and vinegar combined.

Whisked Dijon vinaigrette with olive oil and mustard in a stainless steel bowl

Whisking Dijon vinaigrette in a glass bowl with a wire whisk, showing emulsified yellow dressing.

Dijon dressing whisked in a metal bowl with yellow vinaigrette and black pepper visible

Preheat oven to 350 °F and add raw almonds to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly roasted. Let them cool slightly before roughly chopping into smaller pieces.

Roasted almonds cooling on white parchment paper after baking.

Roasted almonds cooling on a white cutting board after being removed from the oven.

In a large bowl, add the chilled arugula, salad dressing and half of the almonds. Toss using tongs to combine well.

Arugula and roasted almonds being tossed together in a glass bowl with salad dressing using tongs.

Tossing fresh arugula with dressing and roasted almonds in a glass bowl, with creamy goat cheese on a white plate nearby.

Option 1: Add the goat cheese to the bowl and mix well until creamy. Serve the salad and top with more roasted almonds and raspberries.

Large bowl of fresh arugula with dollop of goat cheese and dressing, small plate of goat cheese beside it.

Tossing fresh arugula with dressing and almonds in a glass bowl using tongs, with goat cheese on a plate beside it.

Option 2: Serve the salad and distribute small dollops of goat cheese around the salad, followed by more roasted almonds and raspberries.

Fresh arugula salad with roasted almonds in a glass bowl, before adding goat cheese and raspberries.

Hands mixing crumbled goat cheese into a glass bowl of fresh arugula salad with a spatula.

Fresh arugula salad with yellow edible flowers on a dark plate, ready to be topped with goat cheese and almonds.

Arugula salad with fresh raspberries and edible flowers on a dark gray plate, Option 2 presentation style.

Tips & Tricks to Make the Perfect Salad

Instead of getting pre-roasted almonds, I highly suggest you roast them yourself. The flavor is unlike anything else!
Keep the arugula in the fridge until ready to use. Wash, clean and refrigerate the arugula until ready to use so that the greens are at their freshest and crispiest for the salad.
It’s better to overestimate the size of the bowl needed to toss the salad. You need the extra space to make sure that everything mixes well without crushing any of the ingredients.
Serve the Arugula Goat Cheese Salad immediately as the crispy greens won’t sit well in the dressing for too long.

Variations of Arugula Goat Cheese Salad

Nuts: Instead of roasted almonds, you could do walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts or pecans.
Cheese: If you’re not big on unripened goat cheese, then try out feta, Parmesan, blue cheese, Swiss cheese, Gruyere or even old white cheddar.
Protein: This salad is vegetarian so it can act as a side dish. You can pair it with a protein main (I give some ideas below!), or add in some shredded poached chicken, pieces of grilled salmon, garlic-butter shrimp, or even some tofu!
Dressing: If you want some sweetness, you could also add in some honey to the dressing.
Berries: Freshly sliced strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries would be great in here too!
Fruit: This salad would also be excellent with fruit! Try pieces of tangerine, pears, or apple slices.
Veggies: Chopped tomatoes and thinly sliced onions would be great here. You could also chop up some bell peppers.
Leafy greens: If you don’t have or don’t like arugula, then try out watercress, spinach, or even romaine lettuce.
Other toppings: For more heart healthy fats to keep you satisfied and a nice crunch, try pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, or sunflower seeds. You could even add some pieces of avocado or make a tasty guacamole, such as my Classic Guacamole or Chunky Mango Guacamole!

What to Serve with Arugula Salad

This Goat Cheese Arugula Salad is super versatile that you can serve it with pretty much any protein of your choice! here are just a handful of dishes that would pair perfectly with the salad:

Other Fresh and Easy Salad Recipes!

Recipe by Anadi Misra

Arugula Goat Cheese Salad with Roasted Almonds

Fresh, peppery arugula meets creamy goat cheese and crunchy roasted almonds in this easy, healthy salad. Ready in minutes, it makes the perfect quick vegetarian meal or elegant side dish.

Oven-baked

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15 min

Prep

12 min

Cook

27 min

Total

servings

easy

Level

Ingredients

Tap any quantity to scale

For the dijon dressing (Makes ~6 Tbsp)

(30 ml) olive oilShop →
(3 g) Dijon mustardShop →
(22.5 ml) apple cider vinegarShop →
(22.5 ml) lemon juice
salt(to taste)Shop →
pepper(to taste)Shop →

For the salad

(16 g) dijon dressing
(170 g) arugula(chilled)
(8 g) roasted almonds(roughly chopped)Shop →
(14 g) goat cheese
raspberries(per serving)
salt(to taste)Shop →
pepper(to taste)Shop →

Instructions

For the dijon dressing

1
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper or any other flavorings. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and whisk well to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper or any other flavorings. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the salad

1
Preheat oven to 350 F and add raw almonds to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly roasted. Let them cool slightly before roughly chopping into smaller pieces.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and add raw almonds to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until lightly roasted. Let them cool slightly before roughly chopping into smaller pieces.
2
In a large bowl, add the chilled arugula, salad dressing and half of the almonds. Toss using tongs to combine well.
In a large bowl, add the chilled arugula, salad dressing and half of the almonds. Toss using tongs to combine well.
3
Option 1: Add the goat cheese to the bowl and mix well until creamy. Serve the salad and top with more roasted almonds and raspberries.
Option 1: Add the goat cheese to the bowl and mix well until creamy. Serve the salad and top with more roasted almonds and raspberries.
4
Option 2: Serve the salad and distribute small dollops of goat cheese around the salad, followed by more roasted almonds and raspberries.
Option 2: Serve the salad and distribute small dollops of goat cheese around the salad, followed by more roasted almonds and raspberries.

Nutrition per serving

309

Calories

Protein

Carbs

29g

Fat

Fiber

Sugar

2581mg

Sodium

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Tested & written in Anadi’s kitchen

Dietary Information for Goat Cheese Salad

Tools Needed to Make Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese

Ingredients for This Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad